Pacificsource Health Plans Partners with University Of Oregon to Fund New Campus Wellness Center

Wellness Center in the newly remodeled Erb Memorial Union brings a focus on health to the center of the campus

(SPRINGFIELD, Ore.)—Through its successful Healthy Life initiative, PacificSource Health Plans has collaborated with public and private partners throughout the Pacific Northwest to create healthier communities. Now, PacificSource is strengthening its partnership with the University of Oregon in an effort to create healthier Ducks.

PacificSource’s recent contribution to the University of Oregon Foundation has established the PacificSource Healthy Campus Fund, which will be used to provide program support for the University’s new Student Life Wellness Center and the Healthy Campus Initiative. The fund not only is helping to establish the new Wellness Center, but will also allow the University to establish its purpose for the ongoing healthy campus initiative and to help reach the goals for the initiative which include:

Reduce the use of tobacco products on campus

Promote healthy coping mechanisms for stress management

Promote healthy eating and provide resources on nutrition

Increase movement through healthy and safe physical activity

Increase vaccination rates among students, faculty, and staff

Slated for completion in 2016, the Wellness Center will be in the heart of campus as part of the Erb Memorial Union (EMU) renovation. By establishing a healthy presence in the busiest building on campus, PacificSource is helping the University of Oregon to make health and wellness an integral part of everyday campus life for students.

“This important center will provide a convenient and welcoming space for students to get the resources they need to stay healthy,” said University of Oregon president Michael Schill. “Our partnership with PacificSource led to the Healthy Campus Initiative, a sustainable model for a healthy campus. Because of this focus on health and wellness, our students and faculty are actively engaging in their own health in ways that are generating measurable impact, and helping to increase the quality of life for our entire community.”

In recent years, the University of Oregon has redoubled its commitment to health and wellness; extending its basic health services to include massage, acupuncture free HIV testing, stress reduction programs, and increased nutrition and smoking-cessation resources. The new Wellness Center will combine these and other programs and services to provide a safe and active space for student well being.

“Wellness is about making a number of small but meaningful healthy choices every day, that over time combine and accumulate to make a much bigger impact,” said Alexa Shook, PacificSource’s Health Promotion and Wellness Director. “By helping to make wellness an accessible part of everyday life for University of Oregon students, we’ll help them establish lifelong habits that will pay dividends for decades to come, reduce their risk of illness and disease, and in turn reduce the burden on our healthcare system.”

PacificSource has long been a supporter of better health on the University of Oregon campus. Their Healthy Life Initiative has created a sustainable model for a healthy campus by funding several health programs, including helping the university become one of the first smoke- and tobacco-free campuses in the country, promoting fitness with the annual Run with the Duck event, and challenging Ducks and Beavers to pledge to go healthy as part of the PacificSource Healthy Life Civil War Challenge.

About PacificSource Healthy Life™

Through collaboration with individuals, organizations, academic institutions, and other key stakeholders, PacificSource Healthy Life™ facilitates the adoption and maintenance of positive health behaviors in four key areas: physical activity, healthy eating, smoke free living, and stress management. With programs throughout the Pacific Northwest, Healthy Life is a leader with regard to wellness initiatives that improve the health of the people in the communities that PacificSource Health Plans serves. For more information about PacificSource Healthy Life, visit pacificsource.com/healthylife or contact Alexa Shook at ashook@pacificsource.com.

About PacificSource Health Plans

PacificSource Health Plans is an independent, not-for-profit community health plan serving the Northwest. Founded in 1933, PacificSource is based in Eugene with local offices throughout Oregon and in Idaho and Montana. The PacificSource family of companies employs 700 people, serves more than 275,000 individuals, and has 3,900 employer clients throughout the Northwest. PacificSource Community Health Plans, Inc. is a subsidiary of PacificSource Health Plans and markets Medicare Advantage products under the name PacificSource Medicare. PacificSource Community Solutions is a subsidiary of PacificSource Health Plans and provides Medicaid coverage in Oregon through the Oregon Health Plan. For more information visit pacificsource.com.